'Disgusting leaflet'

The leaflet targets a teaching resource called Learning From One Another, saying it is indoctrinating teachers about the virtues of Islam.

The program was an initiative of the Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Melbourne and was backed by the Australian Curriculum Studies Association.

Both have told PM they do not want to comment on the leaflet, but they point out the program has been the subject of misguided attacks for years.

Keysar Trad from the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils says the leaflet is typical of the Q Society and most Australians will dismiss the material.

"This is more than Islamophobic, this is agitating fear in Australia," he said.

"When our neighbours and our friends see this disgusting leaflet, they will... after ripping it up and throwing it in the bin, they will realise that the Q Society is not a society that is acting in the interest of the Australian community."

It is not the first time Q Society leaflets have raised the ire of residents and community leaders. Another leaflet rails against the Halal food industry.

Push for secularism

Q Society deputy president Debbie Robinson says the group has been dropping leaflets in letterboxes nationwide.

"It's been distributed through Australia in every state," she said.

Ms Robinson says education about Islam has no place in schools.

"Learning from one another and bringing Muslim perspectives into our classrooms just appears to be another initiative offering no alternative but to respect Islam as a religion," she said.

"And as I mentioned before, Australian schools on the whole are secular in nature and trying to promote this interfaith understanding so that we understand the Muslim population, I would argue, will they be exposed to the Judeo-Christian roots of Australia?"

However the Learning From One Another program was not funded by the Australian Government, it was funded by the Myer Foundation.

The foundation says it has proved highly popular with teachers across the country and the foundation is proud to be contributing to cultural harmony and education.

"Well as far as I'm aware, the Australian Curriculum Students Association Incorporated was part of that," Ms Robinson said.

"But I mean, it's still being promoted in our government schools. Whether it's funded by them or not, it's still being promoted in government-funded schools."

Ms Robinson says she does not know why the community interprets Q Society's objectives as Islamophobia.